Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate (“GreenOak”) announced today
the signing of an agreement to merge the two firms into a leading global
real estate investment platform. The combined entity will be named
Bentall GreenOak.

GreenOak Co-Founders, John Carrafiell and Sonny Kalsi, existing GreenOak
senior management and GreenOak’s strategic partner Tetragon Financial
Group Limited will all continue to hold significant ownership stakes in
Bentall GreenOak. Bentall Kennedy’s senior management team will also
acquire a meaningful ownership position in the combined firm.

Bentall GreenOak will be majority-owned by Sun Life Financial (“Sun
Life”) and will operate under Sun Life Investment Management, the
alternative asset management arm of Sun Life. Sun Life has committed
significant co-investment capital to support the growth of Bentall
GreenOak and to enhance the firm’s alignment with its clients.

Senior management of the combined firm will include leaders from both
Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak, and will be led globally by Gary Whitelaw,
as CEO, and Sonny Kalsi, as President. John Carrafiell will be Senior
Managing Partner of the Bentall GreenOak UK/European business.

Bentall GreenOak will provide its clients with a broad range of
complementary real estate investment strategies that include Core, Core
Plus and Value Add/Opportunistic equity, as well as senior and tactical
real estate debt strategies. With investment professionals in 14 offices
in North America, and 7 offices internationally, Bentall GreenOak will
have deep local knowledge and strong, long-standing investment track
records across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

“This combination brings together two successful real estate platforms
to create a world class investment manager, supported by the significant
resources and long-term stability of Sun Life Investment Management.
GreenOak and Bentall Kennedy are two highly complementary firms with
virtually no overlap in investment strategies or offices,” said Gary
Whitelaw, CEO, Bentall Kennedy. “As members of the combined leadership
team have worked together before, and given our extensive discussions
over many months, we believe we share very similar investment practices,
underwriting discipline, and client-centric cultures,” Mr. Whitelaw
continued.

“The mission critical element in any combination is ensuring that the
leadership team and the teams directly managing the investment programs
and assets on the ground are able to remain focused on creating value
and managing risk,” added Messrs. Carrafiell and Kalsi, Co-Founders of
GreenOak Real Estate. “This combination of like-minded and compatible
firms uniquely allows us to do that – with our clients and fund
investors working with the same local specialists with whom they have
been working for many years.”

“Institutional real estate investment strategies increasingly benefit
from a truly global framework. But being successful requires deep local
knowledge, a rigorous underwriting culture and strong alignment between
investors and the manager,” said Steve Peacher, President, Sun Life
Investment Management. “Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak each bring this
knowledge, disciplined experience and a fiduciary culture to the new
combined firm. Sun Life Investment Management is committed to deepening
Bentall GreenOak’s client/manager alignment by making strategic
co-investments in future Bentall GreenOak funds and other initiatives in
partnership with Bentall GreenOak’s clients and partners,” Mr. Peacher
added.

As of September 30, 2018, Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak have, in the
aggregate, over 700 institutional clients with approximately $47 billion
USD / $62 billion CAD in assets under management. Sun Life will have
contractual rights to increase its ownership interest in Bentall
GreenOak in 2026, though it is expected that a meaningful interest will
continue to be held by the Bentall GreenOak management team on an
ongoing basis.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including
required regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in
the first half of 2019.

About Bentall Kennedy

Bentall Kennedy, a Sun Life Investment Management company, is a leading
real estate investment advisor and one of North America’s foremost
providers of real estate services. Bentall Kennedy (which includes
Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partnership, Bentall Kennedy (U.S.)
Limited Partnership) serves the interests of more than 545 institutional
clients with expertise in office, retail, industrial and
multi-residential assets throughout Canada and the U.S. Bentall
Kennedy’s Investment Management group has approximately $36 billion USD
/ $48 billion CAD of assets under management (including approximately
$18 billion USD / $24 billion CAD of Sun Life General Account Assets, of
which $12.3 billion USD are commercial mortgages managed by certain
affiliated Sun Life Investment Management entities outside the Bentall
Kennedy group under the oversight of individuals who are officers both
of Bentall Kennedy and those other affiliates, all as at September 30,
2018). We are one of the largest Real Estate Services providers in
Canada, managing more than 60 million square feet on behalf of
third-party and investment management clients (as of September 30, 2018).

GreenOak Real Estate is a leading global real estate investment
management firm with approximately US$11 billion of AUM, across
discretionary closed-end funds for both equity and debt strategies in
the US, Europe and Asia. Founded in 2010, GreenOak has acquired
approximately 203 assets representing 40 million square feet and US$14.3
billion of real estate value within its target markets. GreenOak has
offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Milan, Luxembourg,
Tokyo, Seoul and Mumbai, with over 100 professionals in dedicated
regional teams having deep, local knowledge, experience and extensive
networks in each market.

These operations have combined third-party assets under management of
$46 billion USD / $61 billion CAD (at $1.33 CAD/USD) as of September 30,
2018. Sun Life Investment Management is supported by the investment
division of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada that manages $109
billion USD / $146 billion CAD (at $1.33 CAD/USD) in assets under
management for the Sun Life Financial group of companies as of September
30, 2018.

Tetragon is a closed-ended investment company that invests in a broad
range of assets, including bank loans, real estate, equities, credit,
convertible bonds, private equity, infrastructure and TFG Asset
Management, a diversified asset management business. Tetragon is traded
on Euronext in Amsterdam N.V. and on the Specialist Fund Segment of the
main market of the London Stock Exchange. Tetragon partnered with the
GreenOak Co-Founders on the launch of GreenOak, providing working
capital, co-investment capital and operating infrastructure to the joint
venture. TFG Asset Management will continue to hold its key investment
in Bentall GreenOak, will serve on its Board of Directors, will
participate in investment committees for funds in which TFG Asset
Management will hold carried interest and expects to invest in new
Bentall GreenOak funds.

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the “safe
harbour” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Information about risk factors relating to Sun Life (and Sun Life
Investment Management) can be found in the annual information form of
Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2017 under the
heading “Risk Factors” and other regulatory filings filed with or
furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available at www.sedar.com
and www.sec.gov.